Tiger's Serenity
by Shadowfang901
Summary: As the dragon warrior Po was made to grow, now he's being forced to change, will he be able to control who he becomes, or will he be the greatest threat to ever walk the Valley.
1. Idiot

First kung fu panda story- healthy criticism, and reviews much appreciated.

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Po deftly dodged another claw "Come on Tigress its late can we _please_ stop."

Tigress' eyes glowed a deep translucent orange while her expression remained the same way it had been for the last hour, unmovable and just plain stoic. For the last few days she had been agitated and restless her moves were jagged and annoyed and her temper was abnormally destructive.

Not to mention lately she had been training with him more than anyone else, he wondered if it was because she was learning to tolerate him or maybe she was regressing to when she was like six and he was her new plaything, or most likely she just likes punching him.

He blocked a punch aimed at his face and yelped as retractable claw sliced the side of his cheek. Oh yes, dragon warrior or not he was going to get his ass handed to him.

She crouched and rotated in one quick motion, kicking out at his feet. His legs went out from under him, but he landed on his hands and aimed a kick at her face. She flew back about ten feet, and feral snarl graced her face as she recovered her balance. He sighed and got to his feet and shook of the soreness he knew was gonna be there later.

She looked ready to lunge again, and Po waved his hands defensively in front of him, and his ears fell back against his head," I give, I give- Uncle …You win, just let me go to my room as a whole panda, or at least a half of one."

Tigress stood up slowly, and actually looked somewhat calm, serene almost. He didn't get it, one second she's all growl and feral-ness, the second he submits she's all calm and levelness. Damn confusing females.

She stared at him, and he laughed nervously. "Weeeeeell that was fun, we were like all kung fu awesomeness," he punched the air, "and I was like Pow and the Whooosh and than- " Tigress raised an eyebrow. He gave another nervous laugh and gulped " Uh-yeah, I gotta go, cause I gotta be at the thing…. at the place…with the people." She watched him as he scrambled out of the training room and tripped down the steps.

He got up again looking back, and ran into a tree. He fell back down and proceeded to roll down the steps. Tigress watched him, amused, as bounced down hitting step after step.

"Idiot." She shook her head, and gave a small smile.

That evening the furious five sat waiting for Po, who had yet to arrive. They all looked to be sitting patiently, but looks are deceiving. Monkey's hands slammed down on the table. " Where is Po? I'm starving and the only other person who has the ability to cook is Tigress and we all know Tigress can't cook."

Tigress' eye twitched. "I can cook."

Everyone looked at her and Monkey rolled his eyes "Yeah I meant good food that doesn't come from a person who burns water and was the inventor of food poisoning."

Tigress growled and her eye's glinted dangerously. "You have two opposable thumbs why don't you cook."

" Monkey's don't cook, screech, swing, and groom, these are the things I know, what I don't know is where the cooking panda is." Tigress actually gave an evil smile. Viper recoiled, her equivalent to a flinch.

" Tigress where is Po?"

Tigress chuckled. "He fell off the side of the temple, and right about now should be crawling back up the stairs." Everyone looked at her blankly for a few seconds, and than started laughing hysterically.

Mantis took a deep breath in an attempt to regain composure, and eyed her critically. "Wait a sec, did he fall or did you push him?"

Tigress tilted her head in confusion. " He fell….Why would you think I pushed him?" Mantis looked at Viper for back up. She sighed and faced Tigress' level stare and tried to explain.

" Well…lately you've been …aggressive and it seems you're taking it out on Po, who apparently has no interest in personal welfare, cause he didn't even try to avoid you even though he could tell you were in a violent and potentially life threatening mood."

Tigress stared blankly at Viper.

"Come on Tigress you know it's true, you've been high strung lately and Po's taking the brunt of the beatings."

Tigress sighed. She was about to say something, when in stumbled the subject of the conversation. Po collapsed on the ground, completely exhausted. She heard grumbling about stairs, and how they're all against him, and something about the stair god taking over the world.

The furious five looked at him nonplussed, and Mantis asked him if he thought acupuncture would help him recuperate. All of the sudden he was fine. Crane asked him if he'd be alright cooking dinner, and he agreed.

Po went through the noodles, the seasoning and the meat, and made one of many of his delicious meals. The furious five all sat down to eat, and Po too. He ate bowl after bowl till he was content. Noodles didn't have the same effect they use to since he was now more muscles than fat.

He was confused as to why Monkey thanked him over and over again for cooking, something about food poisoning…or whatever. Po cleaned up the mess of plates and silverware, and as he left the kitchen, he noticed a figure standing in the shadows.

He walked toward it and the figure became clear. It was Tigress.

He took a few hesitant steps toward her and stopped. Tigress actually looked uncomfortable. She looked almost anxious, which was odd in itself, and very un-tigress-ish.

"Po"

He braced himself for the worst. "Yeah."

She looked like she was thinking about something, and came to a conclusive answer for it. "You know what- never mind." She turned around and walked to the temple bunk rooms.

"What the hell was that?" Po scratched the back of his head. He also went to the bunk rooms found his door and collapsed on the futon.

( Dream Sequence)

_He ran as the shadows chased him, filling his mind with thoughts not his own, and feelings of rage and anger unlike anything he's ever experienced before. An ominous presence filled the air, making it hard to breathe, hard to think._

_The very earth seemed to roar in response to his rage. His eyes flashed a glacier blue, as cold as the coldest snowstorm. He snarled at the presence, roaring in defiance at himself, at everything, at nothing. Then everything crumbled away._

Po woke up to a stinging pain in his cheek, his throat hurt and his eyes opened, but only with effort. He blinked, and waited for his vision to clear. Standing above him were the furious five and Master Shifu.

He laughed nervously. " Uh…Hey guys what's going on?"

Tigress glared at him, "You tell us. You were screaming and yelling in your sleep."

"I was?"

Tigress' glare intensified, and she snarled dangerously at him. Master Shifu used this opportunity to intervene. "Tigress let him catch his bearings, this dreams seems to have had an impact on him." His gaze skimmed over the rest of them. " Training today will continue as normal. Po you will do simple tasks. Understood."

A simultaneous " Yes Master Shifu."

That's how Po's week went. He trained, cooked, ate, had a nightmare, and woke up screaming. It was becoming monotonous, and it had stop, which Po was assuming why Master Shifu had called him to talk.

He walked slowly and came to the doors of the dojo, where Master Shifu waited patiently. As he came in the older master came out of his meditative position. "Po it's time something is done. It's time to find out about your dreams."

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um yeah, like it R and R


	2. Journey

second chap up. It's not perfect. It was late, I was tired

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Po sat down on the dojo floor, and eyed Master Shifu carefully as he retold his dreams, going into detail about the presence and the inexplicable rage he felt, that seemed to come from someone completely different than himself. The kung fu Master didn't seem anxious, or surprised at what Po was telling him. Which made him wonder if the guy had some foresight that he was keeping to himself? Which if he was, dude that's totally unfair.

Just because he's **the** kung fu Master doesn't mean he should get all the awesome mystical power….thingies. Master Shifu made his way over to Po when he finished explaining , and lifted his staff………and started wailing on him. Po yelped as he was whacked a couple hundred times, unmercifully. Po understood the situation and with one hand supported himself from a face plant, and with the other stopped the oncoming blow from the staff.

He growled more than a little irritated. "What the hell was that for? You told me to tell you about my dreams and I did, but as soon I finish you give me a concussion. What's up with that?"

Master Shifu gazed back cynically, "Well what did you expect? You seem to attract more trouble than blessing Panda."

Po glared at him angrily. "And that's a reason to stop all the blood from flowing to my brain. Don't get mad at me. I'm the one has to deal with this." He growled and crossed his arms, pissed, mumbling about stupid furry piñata's, and their damn sticks.

Shifu was gonna correct him, he really was, than he decided to let it go,and get to the subject at hand.

" Look Po, these dreams, I would normally pass them off as psychological problems, but you have lived a fairly decent life. So that's obviously not the case, and for a recurring dream like this…… Po it means something."

Po blinked in realization. You could practically see a light bulb going off. "Oh yeah kinda like the one I had about noodle heaven, and the next day I made the best soup ever. Like that right"

Shifu eye twitched. "Po focus…. I meant it's probably closer to a premonition or a possibility of what might happen with you that's sent by someone with set intentions for you."

Po gave an involuntary flinch, and actually looked serious. "How do I stop it?"

Shifu gave a deep sigh. "I do not know…. Though the most likely thing to do is find the sender of these visions, and beat them, that might be your only option."

Po groaned in confusion. "Why? Why would someone send me these visions? What do they want with me, and if the only way stop this is to beat them, how do I even find them?"

"Odds are they will find you sooner than you'd like Panda. However the key to finding _them_ is in your visions."

"Are you always this cryptic?"

"Po I say what I must. The answers cannot always be given to you."

Po's eyes glimmered suspiciously, "Are you serious about that? Or are you just messing with me so I have to think, cause you know I hate thinking."

Shifu shook his head. "As a Master it is not my place to manipulate my students thoughts, of course…." His eyes glinted evilly. "To every rule there are…..exceptions."

"Now that just plain scary."

Shifu chuckled. "Yes, yes it is."

_ Later_

Po ambled into his room, and collapsed back against the wall, sliding onto the floor. The key to finding _them_ is in your visions. What did that even mean? In all his visions the most pronounced thing in them was the riveting anger. How _that_ was supposed to help him find these guys was beyond him.

He couldn't figure it out how this untamed, wild, uncontrollable rage would help at all. It just seemed wrong. Anger made you stupid. Made you miss things. Important things. Like finding the jackass sending you nightmares for some unforeseen reason, and beating them into a bloody pulp.

So let's backtrack here besides the rage in his dreams there was….was trees and…. Snow. So did that mean wherever these guys were there were trees and snow.

Probably. So he had a lead. That was good…. Right.

Po groaned painfully as he woke up to the sound of Shifu's staff for the wake up call. He flipped to his feet, and stumbled out the door. Everyone else was bowing to Shifu. He followed suit, and tried not to flinch as Tigress' gaze locked with his.

Shifu inspected all of them, requested them to continue regular training and promptly left. As soon as the door closed, everyone dispersed to their separate training areas, all except Tigress.

She stood still, her flame colored eyes penetrating him. She looked strangely surreal….and this was amazingly awkward. He had no idea what to say. So he just decided to wait. Her eyes closed for a second, and when she opened them she motioned for him to follow.

He glared untrustingly at her back, as they walked to the posts she so loved to demolish on a daily basis.

Feeling his glare she turned to look at him. He turned his attention to the floor. Hey the ground looks very interesting there's some boards…..liney things…. A hole.

"Po……What the hell is going on with you?"

He looked up at Tigress' tone. It was…worried, bordering on scared. Hell it scared him. Hmmm. What's he suppose to say though? Yeah, see there's this guy controlling my dreams, and he has a scheme to turn me into a monster with anger issues, that possibly may or may not have the potential to destroy the whole valley. Yeah. NO.

"I dunno… these dreams have just been throwing me off you know." He tried.

"Your lying."

Damn it

Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and she crouched, and then was a blur, within a tenth of a second she was standing an inch from his face.

"Po…I can tolerate many things a liar isn't one of them. Once more what is going on?" Her voice was had gone into a menacing snarl.

He almost wanted to growl, but that would be the worst thing he could do in this situation. Instead he avoided her eyes.

"I can't."

"Can't what?"

"Tell-

She snarled again, and he backed up cautiously. He heard a sigh, and looked up slowly. Tigress looked tired, visibly exhausted. He knew his yells depraved him of rest but it hadn't occurred to him the others would have problems as well.

Tigress' eyes flashed "Do as you please Panda," with that she leapt away.

Po grumbled, and rubbed the back of his head. How come his conversations with Tigress always ended with her pissed at him.

_ Even Later_

He figured it out. There was only one area still covered in Snow, and that was the Scarlet Plains. That was where this person, this dream sender had to be. It was around a week's travel there, and he was going prepared. He packed a bag of food, and nothing else. What else did he need? He already stole Monkey's cookies, and Crane's special bread.

He snuck out of the Jade Palace, and into the night. Depending entirely on the darkness to cloak his path, and the brightness of the moon to light his way, and as he traveled a pair of emerald eyes watched, making sure the way to his master was clear.

_ Next Day_

Tigress woke with the sun. As a predator, as a warrior, as….Tigress. However to wake her hours earlier than that is suicidal. That's exactly what Viper did this morning though. She came in hissing that Po had disappeared and they were getting ready to go search for him.

Tigress looked to take the news with a level head, but in reality she was worried. She might never admit it, but Po was important to her, as any of the five were, may be even more so. As everyone was ready to go Shifu stopped them.

"He left earlier for that which he must do on his own. He will return when it is done. You will not follow him"

_ Timeskip; Two Weeks_

Po had been traveling for a week and half. He pretended he had sage-like wisdom and decided to rest for the nest few days, to regain strength, and to hopefully get rid of the eerie feeling he'd been having for the last few days, like someone was watching him.

The closer he got to them, the more frequent the dreams, and the more violent., and judging by the bags under his eyes he was close, oh so close.

_And in the distance she grinned evilly, savoring the taste of his pain, his insecurity. Very soon she will find out just how far the will of the dragon warrior extends, and just how much of him will be hers to control in the end._

_Very soon………_

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New chap hope you like it. R and R


	3. What's going on?

hey new chap. i need more reviews, this story doesnt really seem doing much.

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Tigress paced angrily. She was pissed. _He left earlier for that which he must do on his own. He will return when it is done. You will not follow him. _That's exactly what Master Shifu told them, but Po wasn't exactly the do it on his own, take whatever shit life throws him kind of guy. He was, well…Po.

She flexed her claws, looking for a healthy distraction. How about thinking happy thoughts? Yeah. Happy thoughts, Po's cooking, Po's idiocy…her claws around the bastards neck that sent Po on a "mission." Her fist smashed into a pole, turning it to kibble.

Her ear swiveled slightly, as she heard Viper slide into the room. She could feel her friend's exasperation and worry coming off in waves, which was the universal sign for girl talk. Tigress couldn't blame her. Ever since Po left everyone's been on edge. Literally, they were all just waiting for one of them to say something stupid, and there would be one less person staying at the Jade Palace.

When Po first arrived, he had messed up the sense of balance. After the defeat of Tai Lung he's the one who remade and retained the sense of balance. Now that he's gone everything was a mess. Everyone was twitchy and tense….violent.

Her tail twitched uncertainly in the air, she and Viper had been less…lenient with each other as well.

Viper seemed to know what was going on in her head, and wound herself into a tight bundle on the ground. Tigress followed suit, and sat down next to her in one fluid motion.

"This is ridiculous…"

Tigress growled. "We need Po back."

Viper looked up at her friend surprised. Tigress' attitude was usually, challenge the world I don't need anybody. She went from that, to wanting the kung fu goofball back, Viper wanted that too. There was only one tiny, midget sized problem.

"You say that, but what are we going to do about Master Shifu, he'll never agree to this. He'll know that we left. When we went after Tai Lung, the only reason we even got away with that was because Master Shifu was distracted by Po. We don't have such a fortunate distraction anymore."

Tigress' eyes narrowed considerably. "Master Shifu will expect something from us. The only thing we can do is wait, and go when the time is right."

Viper agreed.

_Elsewhere_

Po blinked, and a stream of images assaulted him. Remnants of the visions he'd been having. He hadn't slept in two days. Two long, sucky, and frozen days. If he wasn't there yet he was gonna duct tape his eyelids to his forehead, and call it a day. His eyes scanned the array of mountains that he had been led to.

These bad guys had to be cliché didn't they? They couldn't station themselves in forests, or actual plains. No. They had to live in the Scarlet Plains where spring is like Christmas, and the sun rarely shines, and judging by his amazing luck they should be at the top of one these mountains, god forbid that they should live anywhere that doesn't defy gravity, and give them that I rule the world feeling.

Po took a deep calming breath, and closed his eyes. Waiting for the visions to take over.

"That isn't necessary Panda."

Po blinked in surprise, and turned to look at the voice. A large raven colored wolf was there, lounging nonchalantly on a boulder. His eyes glittering malevolently down at him. He was wearing some sort of armor. It covered his muzzle, and went all the way down to his flanks.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Shadow. I will be your escort."

Po scratched his head. "Eh…Escort to what?"

The wolf gave a sinister laugh. "My mistress of course…who else."

Po laughed nervously. "Yeah.Um…I'm sort of in the middle of something right now…I don't really have time to go visit a mistress."

The wolf's face twisted into a feral snarl, and he leapt down from the boulder, landing lightly on his feet. "You're misled Panda in thinking the choice is yours to make."

Po gulped. "Heh, you're not really gonna force me to go meet her . Right, cause that would be, you know mean….and stuff."

_1 hour later_

Po reached for another crevice for a leg up. "I cant believe…_huff. _Your making me climb all the way. _Huff. _ up here…"

Shadow twitched and almost missed the rock he was jumping to. "Is this how you beat Tai Lung, Panda? You started talking."

Po stopped and looked up. "No,that I did with kung fu. Bear style."

Shadow sighed, sadly. "Could've fooled me."

Po grabbed another rock, and heaved himself up to the platform where Shadow sat on his hauches, tail twitching impatiently.

Po collapsed on the ground, panting.

"We are here dragon warrior, prepare yourself."

_She watched as he entered her domain, and using the visions she sent him, tracked her to her lair. The dragon warrior thought his journey to find the dream sender was delayed, but he should have listened to his master. It was her who found him, and that was the first in a long list of mistakes that he was sure to make, and by the time she was through with him it will much too late to correct them. She gave a small smirk, and turned to face the door as Shadow led him in. After all not greeting a guest is rude. Is it not?_

Po gingerly took a step in the door as Shadow left. His eyes wandered to the intricacies of the room. There were stone columns aligned together around the room, a vase here or there, an ominous presence of doom lingering around. Wait a sec, ominous presence. That sounded familiar.

His eyes whisked around the room searching for something just out of grasp.

"Well, well if it isn't the dragon warrior come to visit the Plain's finest."

Po turned around, and stopped. In front of him was a being who looked like a cross between a leopard and a jaguar, her fur was spotted, and lined with deep black streaks, and her tail was striped. He wasn't exactly sure what she was though. (she's an ocelot, look it up, then imagine that just bigger.)

"Uh…hi, so you're the mistress…person, can I go, I mean I have a…thing I have to do and your wolf buddy got me sidetracked."

She raised one delicate eyebrow. "You're out to find your dream sender…right."

Po looked at her curiously. "Yeah, but how did you-" his cut himself off, and he growled. "You, you're the one whose been sending me these dreams. Why? What did I do to you?"

She looked at him and simply said. "You exist, and as you are I cannot use you, but don't worry that'll change."

Po got into a stance and charged, he crouched and made a sweep at her legs, she stumbled, and kicked out at his face. He yelped as the hit connected, and was thrown in the air. He twisted and used his stomach to bounce off a pillar, and ram into her. All of the sudden she wasn't there. She was, he could see her, but he literally went right through her.

He hit the ground with a thud, and looked up to see her standing over him, smirking. "You're amusing Panda, you thought you could fight me and win. It was cute, and as soon as I fix you, you'll be a bit more formidable, granted you'll have no idea what you're doing, but hey you're not a total moron. You'll be ok."

"Don't…wanna be…fixed." Was all Po could ground out before he passed out.

_2 days later_

Po opened one eye, and immediately regretted it afterwards. The light was blinding. He groaned, trying to remember what the hell was going on. It all come back into him in one huge wave , he was still………..crap.

"Oh good you're up. This should be easier on me now that you're awake." _I hate you too._

He watched in horror as she approached, her hand's glowing with some type of unearthly energy. She grabbed him, and her claws dug deep into his already battered body. He cried out in pain, and as she pulled back the pain intensified. His arms felt as if they were coming off his insides were burning. Everything hurt. It was like his whole body was remaking itself.

He had no idea how close to the truth that was. His world went black…again.

_One week later_

Po woke with the sun. The burning had stopped. He couldn't feel anything really though, he was to sore and tired . His tail lashed in irritation. Hold up…tail. He didn't have a tail. His tail was the size of a super ball, it shouldn't be able to lash.

What the hell is going on?

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Hey I hope you liked it. If any1 cares i might finish this story, and if i do it has to get done soon, because soon i wont have internet soon.

R and R


	4. New faces

New chap

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Po's eyes scanned the interior of the room he was being held captive in. He could see everything, every crack, every bug, every inch if stone. He didn't understand, his vision was never this clear, never this sharp. It was like have a magnifying glass instead of eyes. It unnerved him, but at the same time...dude it was freakin awesome.

His new found tail moved idly in the air, accommodating his thoughts. That witch did something to him, and the way she said it... _You exist, and as you are I cannot use you._

He gave an involuntary snarl, and the sound of metal made his ears twitch. He did a quick once over to find the source of the sound. His eyes slid over the ivy covered walls, and the dirt made floor. Nope. Then where...His mouth dropped open, as he looked as at his extended claws.

What the hell did she do to him? His eyes went back to check the shackles around his wrists. If nothing else he definitely had to get out of here before she did something else to, what was the word she used... to _fix_ him, but what to do what to do? He now had sharp pin like claws, and now idea how to use 'em. Unfortunate. His ears flattened against his skull as he groaned in irritation. He took a deep breath, and cleared his thoughts. _Thank you old furry piñata._

He methodically worked his wrists around in the shackles trying to get as much leeway to his paws as possible, when he had enough, he sucked in a breath, visibly shrinking, and used the point of one claw as a makeshift key. Twisting in every direction in hope of hearing the click of the shackles coming apart.

A second later his ear swiveled to the sound of the lock, and the manacles came off. He winced, and made a dive for the falling chains. Any unnecessary noises and he was screwed. His left arm was still bound, and so were both legs so diving was difficult, if not uncomfortable.

His paw slid around the edge of the chain, and... slipped. _Craaaaaaaaaaap_. The metal hit the floor with a resounding bang, echoing loudly off the walls. He cursed, and yanked at the rest of his chains, clawing, and biting anything for him to get the hell outta there. The sound of the guards was far off, but they might as well have been in the cell with him for all the good it was doing him. He snarled angrily at the chain, willing it break, and surprisingly it did. His luck must be coming back, of course his luck was what got him in here in the first place.

He broke through the chains on his legs, and made a sprint for the door. The guards were near he could sensel it, and see it, and if he didn't move he was gonna feel it too.

His options were smash through the guards, and hope by some miracle that would actually work, or smash through the wall and hope the way down was quicker than the way up. It was your typical lose-lose situation. Option one wasn't an option at all, he still didn't know how to work this body; it's been touch-and-go so far. His eyes narrowed a fraction, assessing the chance of his survival. Ah, screw it. Po made a lunge for the wall, bracing as he made contact. The wall shattered, and he heard a rush of wind as the sun was blotted out and, he fell into the chasm below.

--

_ In the chamber._

Shadow loped down the halls, his paws barely skimming the floor. He passed the antechamber, and the Dual Halls, and went straight to his Mistress' chamber. He burst into her room, not bothering to knock. She looked to be busy, gazing cynically into her crystal, which probably meant she already knew the news he was gonna tell her.

He panted, slightly out of breath. "Mistress the dragon warrior has escaped."

She laughed softly, surprising him. "Good...I'm glad."

He blinked confusedly. "Mistress?"

"If he had not escaped, he would be unworthy, a waste of time and a waste space."

Shadow wordlessly acknowledged that. "So...you're not mad."

"Not this time."

--

_ At the Jade Palace_

It had been almost a month since Po left, and time continued to drag on. Everyone strained to obtain the sense of normalcy they had before Po came, putting up a front, and wisely biding their time till they were able to leave, and all they had to do was wait for Tigress' signal, and wait was exactly what they were doing, any holes in the plan, or actions before the time was right, and that was it. So they paced themselves, and waited with all the patience of the kung fu masters they were acclaimed to be, hoping that the panda was alright, and that Tigress would lead them when the time came, but right now they went on continuing to...wait.

--

Po groaned as the sun hit his fur, and his eyes. He glared icily at the sun, for the pain it was causing him. He then gave a low whine, his arm burned it felt like someone took an axe to it, and left it there. You know maybe it wasn't the sun. He looked down, and immediately regretted it. A dark pool of blood covered the overture of his side. His blood, and following that line of sight he winced as he saw a short spear plunged into his limp arm. Well that explained a lot.

Well what did Mantis say if someone sticks you with something sharp the logical thing would be to pull it out. He slowly reached for the spear, gauging the distance. His hand slipped around the edge, and he gave light pull. White pain exploded in his head, and he hissed in pain. Ok so pulling, yeah, bad idea.

His breath came in short pants, as he glared angrily at the spear. Ok so when the sun was blotted out, that wasn't him losing consciousness, those were spears, and arrows being aimed at him. How nice. He sighed and got heavily to his feet, running on two legs was hard, and it hurt, even more so now that he his arm was a pin cushion.

His eyes narrowed as he looked around. There was snow, snow, and... look that looks interesting, more snow. Did it even matter where he went? He didn't think so, as long as it was far from here. He crouched, and unsteadily got on all fours. He was a cat of some kind, right so running on his paws should be easy. I mean, how hard could it be? He saw Tigress do it all the time.

--

It was official, running sucked, and it wasn't easy either. His paws ached, his shoulder burned, and he tripped every other step. He's got to be the worst cat in the history of cats. I mean good lord weren't all cats suppose to land on their feet. He jumped off one of the tallest mountains he's ever climbed, and he was pretty sure his face is what took the impact.

He sucked in another gulp of air. It felt like he'd been running for hours. Sure the landscape changed. There's a lot less snow, and a lot more green, but he still had to find a place to rest. This bites. He wasn't a wilderness scout he didn't know how to survive in the wild. He was just...him.

His ear swiveled to catch the sound of something that wasn't his uneven, and clumsy gait. It was something else. Something different. He skidded to a stop, and tried to peer around the large dust clouds he had created. He gave a snarl, a clear challenge to whoever it was. His eyes narrowed to slits, as he waited, watching for the...thing whatever it was. He was watching so attentively, that a bird swept out of the bushes skimming his nose, he jumped, and gave a surprised yell, and for a second felt incredibly non-smart.

He growled in the direction the bird had flown off in, and his eyes widened in surprise. The bird was gone, but in the direction it had flown off in was a cave. It didn't look that comfortable, and was kinda high off the ground, but it was better than staying here with no protection. He started running again, adamant in ignoring the growing pain in his speared shoulder. He loped up the slope, jumping clumsily from rock to rock, and collapsed in the forefront of the caves. Dreams of home plagued his sleep.

--

Po rose several hours later dehydrated, and hungry, he hadn't eaten in a long time, and he was practically spent. He tumbled out of the cave in search for food, yelping as he fell unceremoniously on his tail. He grumbled angrily, and padded out, looking for something, anything to eat. He tripped again on a root, and passed out. It was to much.

--

The lioness growled angrily that evil lecherous...toad. She couldn't believe it. She was this close to sending him to a home where they torture old people. Today she had gone to the market to get some medical supplies , and some Una leaves for his bones, and he had the gall to make cat calls at any and every single female in the village.

Then he had tried to set her up with the butcher, which with no disrespect to him of course, but seriously that's disgusting and extremely insulting. The butcher's an idiot who thinks he knows everything, and believes the world was built for his amusement, as his plaything.

She wanted someone with class, who didn't reek of blood all the time. The old bat had complained that he was in need of a greater water supply, and had sent her out to ...retrieve it for him. Like she was a freakin Chihuahua or something. She snarled as she swiped at the bushes on her way to the river. She made a stride out of the bushes and into the clearing where the Garion River was, and dropped the jar she was holding in surprise.

On the other side of the river was one of the most beautiful beings she's ever seen.She's seen many a tiger, but white tigers were rare, and there before her one lay, like right there. She took in his appearance he was ragged, like he'd been traveling for days. His ribs were visible beneath his fur, and he was bloody, and beaten, but beside all of that he was still a majestic looking creature. She skimmed the river quickly, and walked toward him cautiously. She stepped lightly in front of him, her hands went to touch the spear, and she skirted back as paw lashed out at her. The tiger in front of her was still unconscious, his pupils were dilated and his dark blue eyes were glazed over, but his body was subconsciously protecting him.

She rolled her eyes. Things just couldn't be easy, could they? She made a feint, for his wounded shoulder, and winced as she punched him in the gut. He was gonna feel that in the morning. He visibly crumpled and collapsed. She stepped toward him, and gave him a light poke. Nothing happened. Good. She knelt down beside him, and picked him, balancing his weight over her shoulders. Now what to say to the lazy hermit. Hey I found a pet can I keep it didn't seem to fit. She rehearsed different sayings praying one of them would work. If not she could always buy him something. He was a sucker for gifts.

* * *


	5. Sage

New Chap. I apologize for the mistakes

* * *

" Suki." She gave a sad sigh. Ever since she had brought the white tiger home, the old man was acting abnormally annoying.

She slid calm piercing eyes in his direction. "Shut the hell up or die old man," was her curt reply. The old Panther turned his grey unseeing eyes at her. This was the lecherous curse she was stuck with, how an old blind guy could get into so much trouble was beyond her comprehension.

He gave a soft sniff, voicing his displeasure. "Is this any way to treat your dear old uncle that went through all the trouble of bringing you in, and taking care of you. I would expect a bit more gratitude, but of course not. Time is at once the most valuable and the most perishable of all our possessions, and you seem to have none of it for your family."

The young lioness rolled her eyes. "Quit being so melodramatic, you may be old, but you're not decrepit…yet. I have a job as a healer. This tiger is in bad shape. He's suffering from malnutrition, blood loss, infections, and he's needs stitches, his shoulder wound is way too deep. I need to help him, and taking a break to help you scratch yourself is _not _an option."

She heard the Panther hermit give an annoyed huff, and pointedly ignored him, turning back to her work. Seeing as he was unconscious, dulling the pain was unnecessary, but when he woke up…Well, that's a totally different story.

She carefully wrapped her had around the spear's broken handle, trying not to brush against the wound by accident. She slid the weapon out with practiced ease. Eyeing the wound carefully, as a fountain of blood came out. Shit. She'd have to work fast. This was going to be a long day.

--

Crane flew mechanically working with the grace he had as a master of his style. He banked a sharp left taking a swipe at Shifu's side, and winced as a well placed kick connected, knocking the wind out of him.

Viper flowed in with the attack coiling, and then snapping out, in hopes the red panda would be caught off guard. No such luck . The staff hit her scales, with a resounding clack, and she was sent flying.

Mantis took this as his cue to attack, and did so with steely determination. He didn't even come close. He was sent sprawling, when he got within hitting distance.

Monkey flew out from the trees, flipping sideways in the air, and maneuvering his tail so he was in a position to try a kick. He kicked, and then there was that whole gravity thing, and Shifu using his force against him. He hit the ground…in a not so soft way.

Shifu's ear twitched, as he narrowly dodged a swipe from Tigress' paw. He twisted, and planted his feet, kicking out. She growled, and blocked with her left paw while rotating her right, in an attempt brain him. He jumped, and twirled in midair landing gracefully on his staff.

He looked down at the defeated five. "Training gives us an outlet for suppressed energies created by stress, and thus it tones the spirit, just as exercise conditions the body. However too much training is costly. So use this time to rest, and meditate. We will pick up where we left off two moons from now."

--

Tigress breathed, taking in her surroundings, listening quietly to the way the leaves moved, and the grass swayed, how the cherry blossoms fell, and how the wind followed an unseen pattern, always moving, never hindered.

She closed her eyes reveling in the sense of balance this short moment had created. The morning sun rose, lightly caressing her ruffled fur, and she shivered.

Her eyes opened, glinting, as the world zoomed into perspective. It was time.

--

Suki woke with a start. She had passed out earlier. She had been working all day, and she was tired, damnit. She had cleaned out the white tiger's shoulder wound repeatedly, being careful to remove all traces of dirt or grime. Then she had to stitch the broken skin together. The fur on that spot was all but nonexistent, and a pretty scar was gonna show up later. She couldn't do much about food, but she forced him to swallow water every twenty minutes or so.

It had taken all day to do all of this, and by the time she was done she was dead tired.

She stumbled to her feet. She was going to have to check the stitches, and make sure they were still clean, and intact. She grabbed a damp cloth, and was about to work, and froze as a pair of ice blue eyes stared back at her. The tiger was up.

--

Po woke up, and the pain he felt was immediate, and completely unexpected. He flinched, and almost cried out , but bit it back as best he could. He turned to glare at the spear in his shoulder, and was surprised to find it wasn't there. In its place were stitches holding his skin together. What the hell?

He shook his head, and scanned the room. It didn't look very big. There was a door, encompassed with a wooden frame ten feet away, and there was….His ear right ear swiveled, and he turned to look in the direction the sound came from.

A hazel colored feline stood in front of him, staring at him. It was a lioness. Noticeably of the female persuasion. She looked to be about Tigress' size, maybe a bit smaller. She had deep amber eyes, bright with intelligence, and mischief, and she was holding a small cloth dripping with water.

He tilted his head quizzically to the side. Who was this cat? He watched in amazement as she walked directly up to him. His lip curled, and he gave a short warning growl. She took another step, and he tensed, issuing a more menacing growl. As of now she-cats are evil, and cannot be trusted.

The lioness frowned. "I need to check your stitches to make sure you heal right, or do you want to me cut off your arm now?"

He blinked, and slowly shook his head no.

"Good, now lean on your side, so I can get a better look." She looked fairly pleased with herself, probably congratulating herself on getting his cooperation. Whoop-de-freakin-doo.

He grudgingly obliged, depositing his weight on the left portion of his body.

"My name is Suki by the way." When he didn't answer she looked at him expectantly.

His gaze narrowed. " And the other one?"

"Other one?" She shook her head, obviously confused.

His cerulean eyes turned into slanted chips. "The other person here, who is it?"

She gaped at him. Yeah, her uncle had been here, but he left earlier for an errand of some kind. The scent was there, but usually you could almost feel the person's presence, and she couldn't feel the panther's at all.

"What are you talking about? No one's here but us."

The tiger didn't reply. He wasn't even looking at her, His eyes were fixed on the door. She turned, and there in the entry way was the Panther's small bulk.

"This is intriguing."

--

Po stared at the Panther, his pale eyes looked so empty, like an endless void that he was afraid to fall into. The Panther was old, splashes of grey blotched his fur, and everything looked wrinkled and...loose.

"You have keen senses… for a tiger from an almost extinct species."

Po cocked his head to the side, remaining silent.

The Panther continued. "My name is Sage…and you? What is your name Tiger?"

Po looked uncertain for a second, would giving his real name be a good idea? Ah, Screw the apples and dumplings.

"Po, that's my name."

Sage gave a slight nod. " And your purpose-"

Po scoffed, and laid his head down on his paws. "Hell if I know."

Suki looked on at the exchange in amusement. She had expected the white tiger to be some kind of regal princely figure, when in reality, he's um, not. He was down to earth, cynical, and apparently gave the old man an excuse to be serious, for whatever reason. Thank god. If Sage hadn't started acting right, soon she was gonna trade him. Sell him on ebay. That sort of thing.

She went back to listening to the converstion;.

"Where do you come from?"

"None of your business."

"Where are you going?"

Po looked away sadly. "Not where I've been."

"What is your chosen profession?"

"Does it matter?"

"It should."

"It doesn't. Not that it's any of your concern."

"Do you have a plan?"

Po's face twisted into an angry scowl, and he turned to look at Suki. "Good lord is he always this freakin annoying, and nosy?"

She gave a sad smile. "Nope, usually he's worse. This is a good day."

Po groaned, and rolled his eyes. He took a deep breath and growled, and stumbling wobbily to his feet. He shoved past Sage, and limped out of the door, stopping when he came outside.

Po's widened as he made a dive to his left, and a claw point sliced his cheek. Sage had just attacked him.

--

Po clumsily got to his feet, trying to anticipate the next move. How could this guy even fight? He was freakin blind. That didn't seem to matter though he was moving with the skill, and the grace of a master. So when it all came down to it Po was screwed.

Po tried to step back as paw grazed his chest, but reacted a second to late, and landed flat on his ass. He scowled at the smirking Panther.

"You move as someone who knows battle Po, but what I think and what you do don't match up. You seem to be able to read what I'm going to do, but it's like you don't know you're own body, your own strength."

Po struggled to a standing position. "You're one to talk, you're blind, but you fight like you have hawk eyes."

Sage chuckled, enjoying the look of exasperation Po gave him. "You're right I cannot see, I never will be able to see, but I have other senses besides sight. I trained myself to the point where, even though the world is black to me. I'll be able to function the same way if I did have sight. However what I said before holds true. You don't know yourself."

Po's ears fell against his skull, and a flat expression took on his face. "I don't want to know myself. This isn't me."

Po turned on his heel, ready to simply walk away.

"Would you like to learn about yourself? I can teach you control?"

Damn manipulative furball.

* * *

** READ IMPORTANT**

**READ IMPORTANT**

Look i hope you liked it. I might not be updating for a while. I have to help my mom move, and im not moving with her , and this is her comp, I dont get my labtop back till later this month, maybe sooner who the hell knos shit happens. Anyways, I'll update as soon as I can.


	6. Mugged

Hey guys I got my laptop back but the internet is flaky so im not sure how updating is gonna work. Thank you for the positive and reviews...and blah blah blah...New chap

* * *

Po glared at the back of his "master's" head far down below, hoping that for once glaring would inadvertantly kill someone, just this once. It's not like the old man didn't have it coming. I mean with all the females that he pissed off in the last two days. It's like he was begging for death in the most slow and painful way a scorned woman could dream up. Which in reality is really really scary.

He growled, and his claws engraved themselves in the trunk. Embedding themselves deep in the bark of the tree, as he felt the trunk tremble, and the tree itself rocked unsteadily. He yelped as he sensed the tree stop defying gravity, and a loud crack echoed through the clearing. The tree started falling and the wind whistled through his ears. He growled, and unhooked his claws, sheathing them. He glanced around wildly looking for something- anything to grab on to.

A lone branch was hanging around twenty feet away. That was a pushing it, but you know what he's been hell and back, it was a bit late to die now. He took a slow breath to steady himself, and lunged, pushing off on his hind legs. He soared through the air, and reached outwards toward the branch, and… missed by an inch.

He gave an angry snarl as he took a straight plunge towards the ground, and all of the sudden everything was in slow motion. He was plummeting towards the ground,

And all he had time to do was brace himself for impact, and impact he did. He hit the ground with a loud thud.

He groaned, and his muscles screamed at him for rest…a massage…a vacation from this unprecedented torture.

"You know I believe that the expression is all cats land on their feet, however you shot that full of holes didn't you? I may be old, but I highly doubt that things have changed that much that the saying was changed to all cats would be lucky to land on their face with a perfect imprint of themselves in the ground."

His eyes narrowed, and Po turned to glare at the snickering panther. "What the hell is wrong with you? You tell me to climb the tree. I did. You told me to figure out how to run up and down the tree. I did. You told me to rub your nasty fungus filled feet. I did, and then you told me to climb the tree again, which I did, and when I got close to the top you decided to cut the tree down, without giving me so much as a warning."

The panther gave a disbelieving snort. "The impudence of the young knows no bounds. Boy, if you're ever in a fight where the environment your in is falling a part and your forced to make due with nothing but your claws and pint sized brain. This training could possibly save your life."

"Oh yeah, and what if the training kills me? What then?"

" You're still alive aren't you? Now I suggest you going back to tree climbing." He gave a wicked grin. "or do you want another…torture sess-I mean spar?"

Po bit back a groan, and tiredly shook his head. You know what one day this old man was going to his, and with any luck he'll turn up on one of those where are they know searches.

_Elsewhere_

Tigress' paws barely touched the ground as she ran, not really paying attention to her surroundings. She could sense Viper, Crane, Monkey, and Mantis around her, keeping pace.

Po wasn't anywhere in the valley. They had checked everywhere…rather thoroughly. Shifu was going to be pissed, and Tigress could understand why. Not only did they undermine his authority by leaving, they had upset a majority of the Valley by looking for Po…She almost laughed at some of the names she was called when she searched the last village. It's not that they were funny. It's just funny that some people thought they could challenge her and actually win.

She had thought long and hard about the out come of finding Po would be, and had settled on maiming him. She hated to admit the fact that she had grown fond of the idiot. He was one of the few who was still around no matter what she did, and lets face reality she wasn't exactly the most kind, or even the most polite person in the world, and he understood that, and the fact that he left without acknowledging his friends, pissed her off.

She didn't know the situation, but she did know that Po owed them more than that, and as soon as she found him she was going to tell him so... as he ran out of air….

"Tigress." She snapped out of her thoughts, more than a little reluctantly."The next town is around ten minutes away. We'll start searching again there?"

She nodded and increased her pace.

--

"Have you seen-Do you know- Has he been-?" They went over this back in the valley .They would ask everyone they saw if they had seen Po, and they would either be a smart ass, a jack ass, or dumb ass. Tigress was slowly losing her carefully planned, practically non-existent patience. The five had spilt up to search, and had promised to meet up in the plaza later. She was currently having no luck finding any…helpful information.

She asked everyone she had seen, the medic, the black smith, the weaver, the leather maker, the pawn shop guy, the mother with kids, the father with the alcohol problem, the beggar, the clumsy idiot in a cast…No one had a clue. It was aggravating, she dug her claws angrily into the ground, staring daggers at her shadow. Her shadow….Aw hell.

She whipped around to stare at the setting sun, and broke into a run. How long had she been looking. She never lost track of time. She snarled. Now was a really freakin bad time to start. She said she 'd meet up with the others later. By later she did not mean night time, especially in a city she didn't know, and couldn't navigate in.

She turned a corner, and raced down the narrow passage. Her left ear swiveled and an unfamiliar scent reached her. Soft footsteps echoed in the corridor she just came out of. She was being followed. She reached a clear zone where a clutter of empty shops were, and skidded to stop.

"Come out already. You have no idea how annoying it is to hear people following you, and not being able to intimidate them face to face."

A crimson furred fox stepped out of the shadows, followed by five or six heavy set dogs. The fox smiled sardonically "Aren't you a tough little girl? How about we play a game little girl? You give us everything you have, and we might consider letting you go.."

Oh my god.

She looked at him disbelievingly. He was serious…..

She was being threatened….

By an average mugger…..

She couldn't help it. The irony…She bust out laughing. She laughed till her sides hurt. Which was the first thing she laughed at in days.

The fox looked at her, confused. "And what pray tell could you possibly find funny at this point."

Tigress gave a very unladylike snort, and slowly got back on her paws. For once she didn't reply to any jibes for the usual reasons, you know out of respect for her opponent and herself. This time it was because she was afraid she'd start laughing again, and wouldn't stop.

She got into her starting stance, and beckoned for them to come.

_20 min later _

"What could be taking her so long? Did she get stuck in a puddle of water, take a cat nap, reminisce about her sucky life, and be all gloomy, and automatically act all slow." Monkey complained.

Viper rolled her eyes "Shut up moron. She probably stopped at a shop, or something."

Crane shook his head. "Tigress isn't one to waste time, I doubt she stopped at a shop."

Mantis gave a snort. "This _is _Tigress we're talking about, her and shopping shouldn't even be in the same sentence."

"Neither should you and anyone of the female persuasion."

They all turned to look at a strangely happy looking Tigress. Crane snickered "Dude that was a burn."

Monkey solemnly agreed.

Viper rolled her eyes, but turned back to look at Tigress. "What took you so long?"

"I ran into some thugs who wanted to mug me." She said it with a strait face and everything.

Monkey stared at her. "_That's _ what took you so long? Are you freakin kidding me? It would take you all of three seconds to knock them out."

Tigress smiled."I took my time."

--

_Back with Po_

Po carried the shopping bag without bothering to look at the females drooling over him. He'd been told to take Suki shopping for medical supplies, and he did…against his will. Apparently this new form was attracting…in a very scary way.

He flinched as Suki glared at him…Again. "What?"

"That's disgusting."

He was getting annoyed."What's disgusting?"

"These women, some of them twice your age, stare at you like you're a piece of meat, it's disturbing in so many ways."

He growled."Not my problem. I'm not even remotely interested in _any _of 'em"

Her smile turned evil. "What you already have someone?"

"No…."

"Are you gay?"

"Are you?"

She snarled at him, about to say something, but apparently something else caught her attention.

He turned slightly to see what it was that had possibly saved his life. A female cheetah, with light yellow fur with tinges of grey stared back at them.

"We should go." Suki sounded angry, and more than a little irritated.

"Why?"

She glared at him, "Does it matter? Lets go." Her tone was forceful, and strained. He twitched, but remained planted.

He wanted answers dammnit, but he'd let her have her secrets…for now, and regretfully allowed himself to be led away.

* * *

um Good...Bad...needs work. Speaking of which would the dude or dudette that says i have punctuation issues beta this story? Plz:)


	7. Mean

I'm sorry that this was late, but I've been having issues with this story.

Which reminds me,

No Po isnt evil, he's just different and slightly changed.

and thank u Hand of Kane

* * *

"What the hell was the about, who was that person, and why did you freak out like that?"

Suki's lips pursed into a grim line. "That was one of Sage's endeavors gone wrong."

He raised an eyebrow. "Why?" he wasn't exactly known for subtlety.

She shuddered, and mumbled something inaudible. He strained his ears, but he couldn't catch it. "What?"

"It actually worked out, they were together for awhile. Even though she was simply using him, you know get it and quit it." She shivered again, and suddenly the full measure of what she said hit him. He twitched, and his eyes narrowed methodically.

"Worked out….as in a female actually tolerated him…in a relationship…Oh my god." Po quivered slightly, feeling highly uncomfortable, before a thought hit him.

"Did he give her alcohol, or was the lighting simply bad in the area?"

She glared at him dangerously annoyed, and he gave her a fairly innocent look.

"What?"

"Do you seriously think that he's incapable of getting a female, and staying in a long lasting relationship?"

"Yes…….."

Suki scowled. "You're a very crude little man."

He nodded sagely, hefting the bag to his shoulder. "Flattery will get you no where."

"That wasn't a compliment meathead."

He clutched at his chest dramatically, and pretended to be offended. "That hurts, my heart can't take such cruelty." He whined gesturing at his heart emphatically.

"If you go into cardiac arrest it's your own fault for being so disgustingly melodramatic."

"You're mean." He turned in his heel, pointedly walking towards the forest. He could sense her amusement toward his irritation. What person takes enjoyment out of a guy's pain. Suki….Tigress…..Viper….Monkey…….Holy shit, all the women in his life overly abusive sadists…….

--

They arrived at the hut an hour later to see Sage staring despondently at the mountain range with a rather grim expression. Suki walked up to him silently, gently shaking his shoulder…no response…...maybe he was broken…..

Po let the pack slide off, and pile into a small heap on the ground. He walked up beside Suki, and with the utmost care sniffed the breeze, and a feral grin replaced his normal look.

Suki caught it, and gave a very noticeable flinch. "Po what-"

She wasn't allowed to finish the sentence as Po's claws slid out, and he crouched, bunching his muscles, and without warning lunged for the unsuspecting victim. Sage sat unmoving, but his ear twitched slightly, and he ducked, sending Po sprawling in the not-so-soft dirt.

The graying panther chuckled as Po spat dirt, and grass on to the ground.

"Wanna try again kitten?"

Po snarled at the name. "You would've stayed still for two more seconds and you would never have to _try _to get a haircut again."

"Hmmm…maybe but we wouldn't want anything to happen to this devilishly soft fur, now would we?" he purred, wagging his eyebrows.

Suki rolled her eyes, but remained serious. "What had you so distant anyways?"

The corners of his mouth quirked upward, revealing one pointed fang. "Exotic fantasies…."

The glare she sent him would have made Tai Lung proud. " And your second answer is……."

He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, while Po snickered in the background. "Well…. a messenger bird came by, apparently we have some sort of celebrities staying in the Plains."

The incredulous look she sent him turned to one of curiosity. "Seriously….Why?"

"They're searching for one of their own. A master, no **the** master, the dragon warrior is no longer with the five, and now they're searching for him."

Suki gaped at him. "You're kidding right. The dragon warrior can't just up and leave , isn't that against some martial code or something?"

"Not really."

Suki's expression darkened, and her eyes' slit dangerously. "How the hell can you be so nonchalant about this?"

Sage looked at her, as if surprised at her stupidity. "Yes, the dragon warrior is part of a delicate balance, but he's said to be pure of heart, if he left it had to be for an honest reason……….retard"

"It must be hereditary trait."

"I doubt that, the only thing I've passed down to your generation is good looks, and taste."

She blinked innocently. "Don't you have to have good looks, and taste to pass it down?"

Sage glared in her general direction, his milky gaze voicing his annoyance. "Did respect to your elder's skip your generation?"

"Respect is earned, not given."

Sage rolled his eyes, and glanced at Po. "What is your opinion?"

"On…what… disrespecting you. Yes it's very fun."

"On the dragon warrior, boy….."

Po gave a flippant shrug. "He had things to do I guess….."

--

Po maintained a careless attitude, and stuck close to his trainer, and healer, because frankly if he was left alone, he would start worrying, and when they found his carcass, the reasons behind death would be some where next to hyperventilating, or high blood pressure.

Sage would stare at him for a time, before continuing with whatever he was doing. The feeling that the old perv suspected something nagged constantly at his subconscious.

He would get the sense that he was being watched, and the fact that his old team was coming didn't help, because he honestly was mentally unprepared for his old rents.

He yelped as his head connected with the base of the tree, and a sickening crack filled the clearing.

--

"What the hell? Did you use him as a punching bag, target practice, an anger management experiment?"

Suki stared critically at the giant gash on her patient's head. It wasn't deep, but head wounds were difficult to judge, they always bled more that necessary, and the damage was difficult to guess. She turned and, glared stonily at her uncle.

He held his hands up defensively. "He wasn't paying attention, he hasn't been for days, and if it were a real battle he'd be dead."

"And if this continues, he'll be dead long before the battle even starts."

Sage rolled his eyes, before he slumped slightly. "I'm starting to wonder if I'm the right mentor for this cub."

"Who else is there? You're assisting him in every way you can. That's enough isn't it?"

His whiskers twitched, and he gave a small smile. "One can wonder…….He has potential, and a hell of a right hook, I just don't think he'll reach that potential under me."

Suki paused in the middle of wrapping the bandage around his head. "Well what then, do we send him away? He never once mentioned home since being here. He didn't say he had family, or a place to go….Is it that simple to just kick him out."

"I didn't say we'd force him to leave……"

"What are you saying then?"

"….I'm saying…I'm saying we need more wine, after you're done could you pick it up?"

He avoided her gaze, letting himself out of the room.

--

That's not what he was going to say. Any moron could see that, but Suki complied anyways. She walked slowly through the undergrowth, and eyed the trees distrustfully. She didn't know why, but she had a bad feeling about today. She quickened her pace, You know what screw this. She dropped on all fours, and made a mighty leap forward, kicking up dirt as she went.

She went at a break neck pace, slowly losing herself to the wind's feel against her fur, and how her paws flew over the soft brown dirt. She smirked, and propelled herself gracefully over an overhang.

She tensed, as the wind was knocked out of her. She tumbled into the dirt, snarling at the person rolling with her. She extended her claws, digging them into her attacker's fur. As they came to a stop, she aimed a well placed kick at his stomach, and sent tumbling into the bushes.

Suki slowly got up, growling a threat to the bastard. He better pray that she would leave him in one piece as a generous offer, and in lovely sushi sized pieces as a close second.

Her eye's narrowed, as he stumbled out of the bushes, and she twitched in surprise. Wasn't Po suppose to be unconscious?

--

"What are you doing, why the hell did you attack me you asshole?" She took a step forward, but leaned back as a paw swiped at the place her face had been a few seconds ago. Holy crap, he was seriously trying to maim her.

She stumbled back as he lunged again, and tripped over her feet. Shit, she wouldn't be able to block in time. If he killed her, she was coming back to haunt his ass. She stiffened waiting expectantly for the pain that never came. She looked up, and to her surprise, a striped tail swished within biting distance of her face.

Her gaze traveled upward, and a pair of scarlet eyes stared imploringly at her. "Are you all right?"

--

Five minutes, we had been here five freakin minutes, and someone was already causing trouble. Tigress glared at the person in front of her. His eyes were a stunning blue, and his white fur, and black stripes accommodated him well, but his pupils were all wrong, they were pale, and dull…..

She twisted his wrist back, and was satisfied to hear a loud pop. She pivoted, on her foot, and brought a round house kick to the side of his head, knocking him out.

For someone who looked so damn intimidating he sure went down fast.

She turned and glared at the bushes in the clearing. "You can come out now, you useless twits."

--

Suki's jaw dropped as the furious five filtered into the clearing. Oh my god. The most proclaimed martial artists in the country just dropped into the clearing….where she was…..where she was getting her ass handed to her…….

That made a really sucky first impression…….

She sighed and rubbed her temple, could this day get any better.

She jumped as Tigress growled at her.

"What?"

The kung fu master looked rather annoyed at her at this point. "I said do you know this guy?"

"Yeah my uncle trains him."

Monkey stared at the fallen tiger, then at her, as if assessing them. "Let me guess he gave one riddle to many."

Crane rolled his eyes "Put a sock in it Monkey…"

Mantis mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, _"and then do us all a favor and choke on it."_

Viper glared at them both, before looking nonsensically at Suki. " Can we by any chance meet your uncle?"

* * *

honestly I think I want to burn this chapter. I hate it, and I'm running on four useless hours of sleep, anways R and R, I'm just waiting for someone to flame me, waiting...


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